Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

7 eyewitness say me and a girl were fully naked and having sex at a public place, but I have 2 eyewitness saying we weren't. Also when the cops arrived at the scene me and her were fully dressed. Is that sufficient evidence to convict me for public indecency?


Asked on 4/23/11, 12:45 am

2 Answers from Attorneys

Michael Stone Law Offices of Michael B. Stone Toll Free 1-855-USE-MIKE

In order to not get convicted, you're going to have to hire a lawyer to make these legal arguments for you, or else you might be required to register as a sex offender and have to live in the desert and be unemployed forever.

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Answered on 4/23/11, 1:04 am
Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

Yes. That doesn't mean you necessarily *will* be convicted, but the evidence is more than sufficient to support a guilty verdict. As Mr. Stone says, you are facing some very serious consequences and you need a lawyer ASAP.

Jurors are allowed to disbelieve the testimony of some witnesses. They can decide that your witnesses are lying, or that they are simply mistaken. This is especially true if the witnesses who saw you clothed were (or might have been) there at a different time from the other witnesses.

It will be hard for jurors to believe that seven different witnesses mistakenly believe they saw you naked and having sex when you were actually fully-clothed. And your statement to us (which you should probably not make to a jury unless your lawyer recommends it) that you were fully dressed "when the cops arrived" strongly suggests that you had been undressed earlier.

Note that the prosecutors can -- and often do -- prove defendants' guilt even where the police arrived after the fact. Relatively few cases involve defendants who were caught in the act by the police; it is much more common for police to arrive after the crime is over and to figure out what happened by interviewing witnesses and examining other evidence.

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Answered on 4/23/11, 11:07 am


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